


Find Me Again

by MaymayC



Category: Bandstand - Oberacker/Oberacker & Taylor
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Get Together, Light Angst, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, That's right y'all it's a fix it fic, i just want my kids to be happy, until the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-09-04
Packaged: 2018-12-22 07:55:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11963046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaymayC/pseuds/MaymayC
Summary: They lose the contest. Life moves on.





	Find Me Again

**Author's Note:**

> This is born of the fact that I need more of the three of them being happy and I am the only one delivering on this. Join me in this imaginary world where everyone's problems are solved with polyamory.   
> I might add more to this later but for now it's a one shot.   
> I actually edited this one too that's how much I love this relationship.

Donny had never felt so nervous in his life. It was ridiculous. He had been to war, performed in hundreds of clubs, and yet, standing here in Julia’s hotel room, his heart was pounding like he was fifteen again. 

“Donny please, sit down. You’re starting to scare me,” Julia said finally with a little nervous laugh.

He looked away instead, choosing to stare at the pattern on the rug. It was really rather captivating with all its concentric circles.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” he said eventually. “About the war… and Michael.”

“You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to, you know that right?” Julia said quietly.

“No, you deserve to know this. You know how I feel about you but I can’t- we can’t do anything until I tell you this first.” He sighed. “If you never want to see me again, I’ll understand.” Julia cocked her head in confusion. Donny glanced to her and quickly away again. He couldn’t say this and watch the trust leave her face. “Michael and I… during the war we- we were together and I’m so so sorry Julia.” He waited tensely for her rage and betrayal to fill the silence. 

Instead, he heard a small noise and then Julia’s distinctive giggle. He turned, shocked. Was she hysterical?

“I’m sorry, it’s just,” Julia waved her hand vaguely and tried to swallow the rest of her laughter at the sight of Donny’s hurt face. “Michael already told me.”

“He  _ what _ ?” Donny sank down onto the bed beside Julia.

“In his letters,” she explained. He could hear the note of apology in her voice. “I thought you knew. He never told me your name of course, but he wrote pages and pages- you’re pretty much the only thing he ever wrote about,” she confessed. “And when we started getting to know one another properly, well, it didn’t take a genius to put it all together.”

“He never said you knew,” Donny finally managed. “How are you ok with all of this? With your husband being- with me and him being queers?”

“Well,” she said and straightened her shoulders, smoothing her hair self-consciously. “He was fine with me being one.” She met Donny’s gaze with a steady one of her own. “I’m guessing Michael never told you that then? We became friends because he and his boyfriend needed girls to pose as their dates back in high school. So he asked my and my girlfriend.”

“So you’re really ok with this?” he asked, searching her face for any sign of doubt.

She reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. “I promise Donny. I’m not going anywhere.”

\---

They had only been together for about five months when she brought it up. The whole band was on the long overnight train ride from Chicago to Atlanta and Julia was the only one still fully awake. Donny was dozing somehow, crammed into the small sleeper bunk with her despite the oppressive humidity of the train. Travelling made her restless, but she would sleep at the hotel later. For the moment, she was content to let Donny drape himself over her as she ran her fingers through his hair. 

“Donny,” she whispered. Julia hated bothering him when he was able to rest, but a question had been bothering her for days now and they rarely got long periods of time to themselves these days. 

Donny hummed to show he was listening.

“Do you ever think about...marriage?”

“Like,  _ us _ getting married?” He didn’t sound upset, just curious, so Julia forged ahead.

“Yeah. And not in a few years but...soon?” 

Donny shifted his weight until he was looking Julia in the eye. “I thought we were going slow? Did I- did I pressure you or…?”

Julia laughed softly. “No Donny, no nothing like that. I just really want to marry you. Because I love you.” 

Donny smiled brightly. “Well in that case, I accept,” he said, and kissed Julia deeply. 

Suddenly, three voices whisper-shouted “I call best man!” simultaneously. Julia and Donny locked eyes and both began to laugh loudly. 

From above them, Wayne said, “If you all don’t shut up I’m going to quit.”

\---

_ He’s standing in the barracks back at basic, staring at Michael who’s frowning like he never did, not back then, not before the war.  _

_ Then suddenly they’re back on that goddamn hill and Michael is sinking into the mud, being swallowed by it. And Donny can’t do anything because his feet are stuck in it all. He tries to grab Michael’s hand but the rain- it’s too slippery and just before his head disappears he smiles up at Donny and says ‘What’s wrong baby?’ and then he’s gone and there’s nothing but the mud and the rain and then he looks down just in time to see a grenade land at his feet and- _

Donny woke with a gasp. He looked down and yes, Julia was still there, still asleep. He watched her steady breathing for a few minutes before resigning himself to being awake at (he checked his watch on the nightstand) Jesus, 3:30 am. He didn’t want to wake Julia, so he slipped out of bed and tiptoed downstairs to make some tea.

He still couldn’t believe how lucky he was sometimes. As he started the water boiling, he thought back to his and Julia’s wedding, almost a year ago now. Six months after that stupid competition, on one of their rare weekends in Cleveland, they were married in a courthouse. Davy and Nick had been his best men; Jimmy, Wayne, and Johnny had been Julia’s. 

He was shaken from his memories by the kettle whistling. Cursing under his breath, he scrambled to turn off the stove. He tensed, hoping he hadn’t woken Julia. Hearing nothing, he turned back to making his tea (god, he missed coffee, but it was almost impossible to get these days). 

“Make some for me too,” came a sleepy mumble from behind him, just as he was stirring in his sugar.

Donny turned sheepishly and gave Julia a smile. “Sorry darling. I tried not to wake you.”

“That’s alright,” she said through a tremendous yawn, as she wrapped her arms around his middle and leaned her head on his shoulder. “All is forgiven, as long as you make me some tea, kid.” She glanced at the clock. “I did say I wanted to get an early start on the laundry,” she said ruefully. 

Donny laughed quietly under his breath. “Go back to bed Julia. I’m just going to work on a couple arrangements for rehearsal and then I’ll be right up, I promise.”

“How bout a compromise? I’ll sleep on the couch now if you promise to take a nap before rehearsal later.”

“You’ve got yourself a deal,” he said, and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

\---

Julia was folding her last load of laundry when the doorbell rang. And kept ringing. She hurried towards the noise, checking over her shoulder every so often to see if it had woken Donny up. She swung open the door, ready to scold whichever of the boys or neighborhood kids have decided to be a nuisance today.

“Really, my husband just got to sleep  and he-” she froze, not believing her own eyes.

“Hey Jules. Mind if I come in?” Michael said. 

He looked so different. Too thin, as if he hadn’t eaten enough in weeks. His eyes were shadowed, and he looked hollow, like someone had reached inside his chest and scraped his soul out with an uneven hand. He gently let his bag slide off his shoulder onto the ground and she stumbled forward, latching onto him. The moment their hands met he pulled her in close, like he wanted to meld their bodies together, and they both began to cry.

“Julia who’s at the door?” Donny said behind her. She turned to find him leaning against the door frame, still half asleep, and her heart constricted the way it always did when he looked like this, sleepy and unguarded.

“Michael,” she whispered. Then, louder: “Donny, it’s Michael, he’s home, he’s home.”

He straightened up, suddenly alert and sucked in a sharp breath as he finally saw Michael. 

“Hey baby,” Michael said softly and Donny launched himself into his arms with a strangled noise. Michael stumbled a little but they managed to stay upright, clinging to each other for a long moment. 

Julia saw that their neighbors had started to take notice. “Let’s go inside boys.”

The moment the door closed behind them Donny had Michael pressed up against it, peppering kisses over every inch of his face until Michael began to laugh. 

“Slow down baby, slow down! Catch your breath,” he said fondly. His hands shook but they steadied as he started stroking Donny’s spine comfortingly.

“All this time I thought… but you’re really here, it’s really you,” Donny says, taking deep shuddering breaths. Michael pressed their foreheads together comfortingly. 

“Yeah kid,” Michael says. “It’s really me.”

Julia must’ve made a noise then, because they both looked to where she was standing about a foot away. Michael moved to one side, breaking the circle of Donny’s arms, and he held one hand out to her (keeping the other latched onto Donny’s shirt). She took his hand and two steps forward. 

“Oh Jules,” he sighed, and then they were kissing (finally, finally) and it was like he never left at all. “I missed you so much,” he said when they came up for air. “Both of you.”

“Michael we thought you were  _ dead _ ,” Julia said.

“I know,” he said. “They told me at the base, when I was waiting to come home.” 

“But where have you been?” Donny exclaimed. “You were gone for  _ two and a half years _ .”

“I’ll tell you, but can we sit down? It’s kind of a long story and I’m… not as strong as I used to be.” He did look a little pale as he said this, and Julia’s heart clenched in a short rush of panic. 

“Let’s go sit in the living room,” she said. The three of them made their way slowly- none of them wanted to let go, which made going through doorways difficult. They arranged themselves on the couch, Michael in the middle with Donny and Julia pressed close on either side of him. He was quiet for a moment before he cleared his throat.

“I jumped out. When you threw the grenade. I jumped out and rolled down the east side of the hill, and I must have hit my head because I blacked out and the next thing I knew I was waking up on a boat with a bunch of other guys. Must have been almost a week later we were moved to a P.O.W camp. Best I can tell I was there for about two years. They kept the camp going illegally after the war ended until about six months ago, when the U.S. army got wind of it and shut it down. I was so sick they had to quarantine me for three months and then it was two more months of questions and bureaucracy before they let me come home. And here I am.”

“Here you are,” Donny repeated quietly. The three sat in silence for a moment. 

“Well, don’t hold out on me!” Michael exclaimed eventually, looking around at them. “What have you two been up to all this time?”

“I started the band,” Donny said. “The way we used to talk about doing. There’s seven of us- me, Julia, and five other guys- all vets. We lost a competition but we toured for almost a year and…” He trailed off, unable to say it. 

“We got married, Michael,” Julia said. “Donny and I. You were gone and… well, you know what he’s like.”

Michael threw his head back and laughed. “Do I ever!”

“Hey!” Donny sat up from where he was leaning against Michael. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“She’s talking about the thing you do,” Michael said with a grin. 

“I do not ‘do a thing’!” Donny spluttered

“Oh yes you do, with the big sad eyes-”

“-and the music-” Julia jumped in. 

“Yes!” Michael turned to her. “Christ, the first time I heard him play piano-” Julia fanned herself dramatically. “-see, I  _ knew _ you would get it.” 

“It’s not a  _ thing _ !” Donny protested. But the other two were laughing too hard to hear him. 

“Aw, look, there he goes with the eyes again,” Michael said and he patted Donny’s cheek fondly. 

“Don’t worry kid,” Julia said. “It’s one of the things I love about you.” She sat up suddenly. “We’re going to need a bigger bed. The one we have not won’t fit all three of us.”

Michael looked away with a pained expression on his face. “Jules… it seems like you’ve got a good thing going here. I don’t-” 

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Donny cut in. “Of course you’re staying.” 

“C’mon kid, be serious. What will people think?”

“When have I ever cared what people think?” Julia said. “When have you for that matter? Let them think what they want and gossip as they please.”

“Look,” Donny said. “You love us both right?” Michael nodded. “Well we both love you too. And Julia and I love each other. That’s all that matters.”

“So?” Julia said. “Are we doing this?”

“We’re doing it,” Michael agreed with a smile.

The phone rang then, breaking the moment. “Oh!” Julia gasped and jumped up, her hand to her mouth. “Rehearsal!”

“Shit,” Donny said and slumped back into the couch. “That’ll be Wayne.” 

“I’ll get it.” She ran to the kitchen, and Donny heard her telling Wayne that they were on their way over. 

“Ready to meet the band?” Donny asked Michael. 

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on tumblr where I'm gonna build this tag from the ground up baby. (@awitchorwhat)


End file.
